State Fair horse racing meet runs Friday to Labor Day

August 21, 2014|Sports Digest

Horse racing

State Fair meet runs Friday to Labor Day

The second season of horse racing in Maryland begins Friday with nine races at the Maryland State Fair, the only fair east of the Mississippi that still conducts a sanctioned thoroughbred meeting. The meet covers seven days and will be contested over successive weekends, ending Labor Day. Laurel Park's fall meeting starts Sept. 5. Last year J.D. Acosta accepted 60 mounts at the fair and led riders with 16 wins. He has six mounts Friday. Trainer Hugh McMahon sent out 19 starters in 2013 and won with nine. Sniper, who breaks from the rail in Friday's allowance feature, is his only starter on opening day. Timonium will again offer a $10,000 trainers bonus, awarded to the top four conditioners with the most wins and the most starts. Admission to the races is included with admission to the fair. First post daily is 1 p.m.

Heading into its first season in the Big Ten, the Maryland men's soccer team has been picked by the conference's coaches to finish in first place. The Terps reached the national championship game last season, finishing 17-4-5. Michigan State was picked to finish second, followed by Michigan, defending Big Ten champion Penn State and Indiana. The following Terps were named preseason players to watch: senior midfielder Dan Metzger, sophomore goalkeeper Zack Steffen and junior midfielder Tsubasa Endoh.

Football: Navy senior fullback Noah Copeland is one of 43 players on the watch list for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, which recognizes the top Texas-linked offensive player in the Football Bowl Subdivision who also exhibits the characteristics that define former running back Earl Campbell. ... Coast Guard defensive back Ryan Robertson from Walkersville High is among 36 finalists for five High School National Scholar-Athlete Awards that will be presented by the National Football Foundation to five current college football players for their accomplishments as athletes, scholars and citizens at the high school level.

Men's cross country: Navy was picked to finish first in the Patriot League preseason poll. Loyola Maryland was picked to finish last.

Women's cross country: Navy was picked to finish third and Loyola ninth in the Patriot League preseason poll.

Field hockey: Maryland's regular-season home games against Ohio State on Oct. 3 and Penn State on Oct. 10, both at 3 p.m., will be televised by the Big Ten Network.

NFL

Former Navy fullback Kettani signs with Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed former Navy fullback Eric Kettani. Kettani, 27, was originally signed as a rookie free agent by the New England Patriots in 2009 and had to leave training camp in July of 2009 for military commitments. He was reinstated to the Patriots roster in September 2011 and spent part of the season on the practice squad. Kettani spent the entire 2012 season on the Washington Redskins' practice squad and was with the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2014 offseason before he was waived May 12. A four-year player at Navy, Kettani rushed for 2,091 yards and 15 touchdowns on 395 carries. He led the team with 982 rushing yards as a senior on 190 carries.

Redskins: Defensive end Jason Hatcher is expected to make his Washington debut on Saturday night against the Ravens, he and coach Jay Gruden said. The team's most high-profile defensive free-agent signing of the spring, Hatcher has been working his way back from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Restricted to individual drills since coming off of the PUP list Aug. 9, Hatcher took part in team drills for the first time Wednesday. His knee responded favorably, he moved well, and after practice reported no soreness. ... Washington claimed punter Tress Way off waivers and waived punter Blake Clingan. Way, who attended Oklahoma State, was waived Monday by the Chicago Bears.

Former Oriole Curt Schilling, who won 216 games in 20 major league seasons, said on WEEI radio in Boston that he believes his recent bout with cancer was caused by chewing tobacco. Schilling, who declared victory over cancer in February, had not disclosed the type of cancer until this week. Schilling said he suffered from squamous cell carcinoma, cancer of the mouth. "I didn't talk about it for two reasons: No. 1, I didn't want to get into the chewing tobacco debate, which I knew was going to come about, which to me, I'll go to my grave believing that was why I got what I got," he said. "Absolutely, no question in my mind about that. And the second thing was I didn't want people to feel sorry for me."